Follow
by kbeto
Summary: "Follow [ˈfɒləʊ] verb. To go after in or as if in pursuit; to take as a model or precedent; to accept the guidance, command, or leadership of." Sequel to 'Fairy Cakes'. A series of events involving the different aspects of 'following' to the Fletcher-Jones family. Fluff, Flones, a bit of Pudd, rated T for some puns. Table #4, entry #8.


_Disclaimer: I still don't own Disney or Just My Luck, or anything, really!_

_A/N: This doesn't fill my first prompt table, but it's an idea that I discussed with **deeplyinloves** a long time ago. And by discussed I mean she just threw a lot of Disney related stuff in my face. Even Tom's character's name was her suggestion!_

Follow

"Stay where I can see you and don't even think of climbing that tree," Tom spoke with a serious voice, taking one of the chairs on his backyard.

"Okay, Dad!"

The weather was nice outside, and the twins wanted to play with their robot dog –courtesy of Uncles Harry and Dougie– somewhere they could run, which justified all the puppy eyes Tom got as soon as he sat down with his laptop in hands to do some work – since the twins were born he opted to work at home and take care of them himself, instead of asking his mum or nan for help. Danny fully supported his decision with a well-humoured _"the house would be in fire if I were the one home with them",_ that both knew held _some_ truth in it.

For a few hours, everything was peaceful and relatively quiet. Luke, Leah and Dot –the robot dog– were playing follow-my-leader, walking around trees, crawling beneath chairs and jumping around, although Dot pretty much could only follow them and bark – no jumping whatsoever. From time to time, Tom would raise his eyes from his screen to check on his little rascals and make sure they stayed out of trouble, whilst still trying to focus on the task at hand.

"_This is going too smooth, it's almost as if something will happen–" _Tom's thoughts got interrupted by some screaming, Leah running to him with wide very eyes and speaking too fast for him to understand her. Under the tree Tom could see Luke crying, standing stiff and stomping his feet repeatedly.

"A monster in Luke's hair!" Leah pointed over to where her brother stood. "Help him, Dad!"

~#~

"Tommy, I'm home!" Danny announced, locking the door behind him. Tom's head popped up at the top of the stairs with a wide smile, his index finger gesturing for Danny to go to him. "Aren't ya a bit naughty today?" he chuckled, finally reaching his husband and kissing the brown-eyed man passionately.

"I actually have a favour to ask," Tom licked his lips, still tasting Danny on them. "Can you tell the kids a story _before_ taking your shower? They're a bit distressed about something that happened today."

"They all right?" Danny's eyes bulged. He would give his own life to keep his kids from any harm.

"Nothing too serious, they're not harmed. It's just that I reckon they really need one of your crazy stories," Tom assured him with a peck on the lips. "Take these clothes off, fit something more casual and do your thing; I promise you're going to be generously rewarded."

"I love when ya get naughty," Danny closed his eyes, letting the sensation of Tom nibbling on his earlobe take over his body.

~#~

"Is it you two needing a story, innit?" Danny –now clad in just some shorts– entered the twins room, winking at them.

"Papa!" The kids jumped on Danny's arms, hugging and kissing him with all their love. Except for the weekends, they didn't get much time to play with him. However, they loved him as much as Tom.

The three took their respective spots in bed, following the same usual ritual before every story: deciding on a theme and what elements they would like the tale to contain. Leah said she wanted something with the follow-my-leader, whereas Luke wanted a cat or a dog. A few minutes passed, before Danny finally decided on what would fulfil the request at hand quite finely.

~#~

_Many many many many many – _"Papa!" Luke giggled, interrupting Danny's usual silliness. "Okay, Moogle. It's possible it wasn't _tha'_ long ago." – _years ago, a young boy named Tolice lived with his cat, older sister, mum and dad in a farm far away from other people. Tolice was a beautiful and smart boy who liked to dress in baggy dungarees with a blue shirt, his long blond hair braided and tied with a black bow._

"Dunga-what?" Leah arched an eyebrow up, clearly lost at the reference.

"It's that thing Uncle Harry wears when he's working on his garden," Danny offered. "Sorta like rompers for grown-ups, I guess." The little girl seemed content with the explanation, and so her dad returned to his story.

"_Return before the sun goes down," Tolice's mum warned, as he left the house with his big sister to study under a huge apple tree at the foot of the hill next to their house. Even being extremely smart, Tolice had problems concentrating on studies and had his sister help him most of the time._

"_Tolice, were you even listening to what I just read?" His sister asked, throwing a reproachful look. The boy nodded and sighed, sitting up straight. He knew he had to focus on the words his sister spoke, but everything else was so much more interesting, and he desired with all his heart to leave that farm and meet new people – although he had never seen anyone besides his own family and the postman._

"_I wish I could just escape this place, Dougah," Tolice sighed again, stroking the blond fur of his cat, receiving a low purr in response. Sleepiness started taking over Tolice's body –due to boredom– when he heard an unknown voice muttering something time and time again._

"_I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late!" a white rabbit wearing headphones, skirt and a scarf yelled to herself, probably not hearing her own voice because of her music._

"_Hey, where are you going?" Tolice got no answer to his question, as the rabbit continued to run. "Dougah, let's follow her," the boy glanced over his shoulder to see if his sister was watching, but she wasn't._

_Tolice and Dougah followed the white rabbit, finally reaching a strange tree where she disappeared inside. The hole in it seemed large enough that he could crawl inside, though he wasn't sure if should. Tolice walked around the tree, knocking on the bark as if expecting some answer from it._

"_I guess we have to take a look inside right, Dougah?" The cat meowed long and ran inside the tree. "Dougah, wait!"_

"Why do I think you two are too quiet today?" Danny interrupted himself, looking from Leah to Luke with an inquisitive look. It wasn't the norm to have them so quiet that they wouldn't have asked something twice or thrice up to that point.

"Dad said you were tired and we shouldn't ask too many questions," Leah told him matter-of-factly. It seemed like Tom didn't want Danny too exhausted, and he wondered _why._

"We're good kids," Luke grinned.

"You're _always_ good kids," Danny looped an arm around each twin, pulling them close to him. To think they would be so considerate at such a young age! There was no doubt they were Tom's kids. "Where were we?"

_Tolice had barely his upper body inside the hollow tree, when the ground under his hands disappeared, and he fell a long way down. Just as he got closer to what seemed like solid ground, the hood on his shirt opened like a parachute and he descended more slowly, painfully falling on his bottom._

"_Blimey, that hurt!" He winced and rubbed his sore bum. "Dougah, where are you?"_

"_I can't be late!" a female voice spoke. Tolice looked over his shoulder to see the same white rabbit disappear behind a door, that closed soon afterwards._

"_Wait, where are you going?"_

"_A place you cannot go, that's for sure." Tolice searched from the source of the voice, his eyes almost falling off when he realised it was the doorknob speaking to him. He approached it slowly, asking if he could get to the other side, but the door said 'no'. "You can't fit this door. If you still want to go, you need to play the instruments on the table."_

"_These here?" The boy picked up a guitar and strummed a note. His body grew gigantic and filled the whole room. "Maybe not," Tolice picked a tiny violin and played a note, this time shrinking to the size of a thumb._

"_You're still no suited to cross this door," the doorknob spoke in disapproval, frowning. "I can let you through if you can help me sing, though." _

"_Singing it's not that easy, you have to have good control of your breathing and everything, it will take ages!" the blond complained, taking a deep breath with his mouth open and singing some random melody. "See?"_

"_Is that all?" _

_The doorknob imitated Tolice, taking a deep breath that made it swallow the boy. When he woke up again, he found himself sitting on a huge flower on the garden, being watched very closely by a brunet boy with blue eyes and wearing a panda onesie. Tolice almost fell off the flower, eyeing the stranger with caution._

"_Who are you?" he asked the giant, voice a bit shaky._

"_I am Juddee," the huge boy spoke. "And I am Juddum," a second voice spoke, and for the first time Tolice realised there were **two** of them._

"They're twins! Like us!" Luke reached for his sister's hand, swaying his head silly from one side to another on a silly dance.

"Yup, they're identical twins," Danny chuckled. "You two are twins too, but a bit different. Dad can explain it better when you're older."

"_Hi, I'm Tolice. Have you seen a yellow cat and a rabbit around here?"_

"_Maybe, we did? But–" Juddee grinned. "–why should we tell you, though?" Juddum finished the sentence, looking as smug as his brother._

"_Because I asked you politely?" Tolice blinked in confusion. Why wouldn't they help him, if knew about Dougah and the White Rabbit's whereabouts?_

"_We have–"_

"– _a riddle for you!"_

"_If that will make you help me, go ahead, please," the blond sighed, sitting with his legs crossed._

_Once again, Juddee spoke first. "I am the beginning of the end, the end of every place."  
_

"_I am the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space," Juddum added._

"What am I?" the twins asked at the same time.

"That's hard, Papa. I don't know the answer," Leah pouted.

"It will be easier when you learn to write, love. Don't worry."

"_It's the letter 'E'?" Tolice half-answered, half-asked. "'End' and 'eternity' start with 'E', and 'place', 'time' and 'space' end with 'E', too."_

"_Correct-o!" The twins applauded. "Go search for the Joneshire Cat in the Forever Lost Forest, he knows everything about this place," they instructed, just before blowing Tolice's small body away, that eventually fell on a bouncing pudding lake._

"_Why can't the people around here help you like normal people do?" Tolice groaned, crawling off the soft lake and taking a look around. An old sign with 'Forever Lost Forest' written on it showed him the way to follow, and so he entered the woods._

_Our hero walked for almost an entire hour, and saw no sign of a rabbit anywhere, nor Dougah, nor the Joneshire Cat he was supposed to meet. Tired of walking aimlessly –and almost sure he now knew why the forest had that name– for quite some time, Tolice sat down on a patch of grass under an apple tree, closing his eyes._

"_Where are you Joneshire Cat? Can't you just show up?" He let his head bump against the bark._

"_Sure. All you had to do was ask," a boy with dark, curly hair spoke from above Tolice. He was dressed in baggy jeans kept in place by black braces, and had a really wide smile._

"_You're no cat," Tolice frowned, looking upwards. "Can you really help me?"_

"_Why don't you–" the brunet boy vanished from his original spot. "try me?" He reappeared in front of Tolice bowing down and extending a hand out. _

_Tolice looked sceptically at the hand in front of him, but placed his own on it. He received a gallant kiss on his hand and blushed furiously, not expecting such movement. Now that he looked up close, the boy sure was good-looking and rather fit._

"_You can call me D-Dawg," the Joneshire Cat offered, bringing his eyes back to the same level as Tolice's. "You want to find your cat and the White Rabbit, huh?"_

"_Yeah, but how do you know?" Tolice struggled to keep his eyes from the boy's biceps. "And why you have a nickname that sounds like 'dog', when you're supposed to be a cat?"_

"It sounds like Dad looking at you, Papa."

"No, it doesn't," Danny tickled his daughter a bit. She was always more perceptive and more receptive to all the romance stuff. Luke, in the other hand, just made 'eww' noises at almost everything.

"_I don't really need to conform to reality," D-Dawg replied, a pair of cat ears appearing atop his head. He gave Tolice a map and explained that he probably would find the White Rabbit with the Queen of Hearts, who happened to be holding a ball for her unbirthday that night. "Visit the Matt Hatter and he should fit you in more adequate clothes for a ball."_

"_Thanks for your help, D-Dawg."_

"_Anything for a cute face like yours," the cat-boy winked, his whole body fading until his smile was the only visible portion of him._

~#~

"I have great expectations for my little boy," Harry laughed on the phone. "I hope he chooses me as his Godfather."

"_You say that because you weren't the one who had to eat a bloody fairy cake of Marmite and sausage! I don't know if Dan will let you near our son for at least a month." _Tom's voice rang loud and clear, both men laughing at the absurdity of the situation. The fairy cake episode was still too fresh after just one day had passed.

"Don't worry, I can be quite persuasive when I want. Dan won't say no!"

"Why do I get the feeling you're planning something kinky involving partner swapping?" Dougie nibbled on Harry's neck, speaking closer enough for Tom to hear him. "You have kids now, Thomas. Stop the perviness, dude!" Harry put his phone on the loudspeaker.

"_As if you're not a prime example of a pervert,"_ Tom rolled his eyes, albeit no one would see it. _"We were talking about my Moogles choosing their Godfathers, and I have to say that it's very likely they will choose you two – they love you."_

"What's about us not to love, right?" Dougie grinned, this time receiving an eye-roll even from Harry.

~#~

"_You look Magnificent," the Matt Hatter clasped his hands together, motioning for Tolice to spin around. "This is my best work, for sure!"_

"_Thank you, Matt Hatter," Tolice said, inspecting himself in the mirror. He was dressed in an elegant outfit that made him look like a real prince and were also pretty comfortable for luxurious clothes. The boy wouldn't know why a **hatter** worked as a **tailor**, but not much made sense in those lands D-Dawg called Wonderland._

"_No problem, kiddo! We'll see you there!"_

_Tolice then walked all the way to the castle, where a extensive maze of hedge and roses stood between the gates and the entrance. D-Dawg didn't say anything about which route to take, and so the boy walked around for some time, until he stumbled across a small man with a crown on his head and dressed in fancy clothes._

"_Going to the ball, too, my child?" The king was telling Tolice that he too was lost, when the White Rabbit ran past them, pushing some roses like buttons and revealing a short cut. Tolice once again followed the rabbit, and arrived at the castle in time to the ball, the king following him close behind._

"_Let's commence the ball in celebration to my unbirthday," a woman in a fancy red dress announced, clapping her hands. The people in the room promptly started dancing around to the sound of an orchestra made up of men that resembled playing cards with faces and limbs._

"_This place is beautiful," Tolice looked around in awe, admiring the decoration. Everything inside the ball room –including walls, roof, doors and floor– was made of crystal, and for a moment he wondered if those people knew the concept of privacy._

"_Can I have this dance?"_

"_I'm sorry, I–" Tolice mouth hung open in astonishment. Before him there was D-Dawg, dressed like a prince, his curly hair now shaped into an exuberant quiff, gelled in place. _

_He bowed to Tolice and extended his hand, taking both to the centre of the ball room. There they swayed to the slow music, talking about many things, but mainly getting to know each other. Tolice felt himself getting lost in those blue eyes, and yet continued to dance, his arms looped around D-Dawg's neck, the feeling of the cat-boy's hands on his waist making his stomach feel funny – he even forgot to look for Dougah or the White Rabbit again._

"_Can I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen?" A jack of clubs man-card cleared his throat. "We're now announcing who will be crowned the Queen of the Ball." Everybody went silent and a drum roll filled the space. The Queen of Hearts grinned, rubbing her hands together. "and the Queen of the Ball is... Tolice, the boy from another world."_

"_What?!" The Queen crushed the fan in her hand into tiny splinters. Her face turned as red as her dress, and flames could be seeing coming out of her mouth, ears and nostrils. "Why did you fools crowned him?"_

"_I don't want to sound rude, but you didn't even got to dance," Tolice spoke, trying to shield his eyes from the spotlight direct over him. "Why would you expect to be crowned?"_

"_He's quite right," the King nodded in agreement. The next second the queen Chucked him outside a window, redirecting her angry eyes to Tolice._

"_I think it's our cue to run," a small blond boy with blue eyes took hold of one of Tolice's hand._

"_Dougah, is that you? What–"_

"_Off with his head!" The Queen yelled. An army of card-men appeared and surrounded he two boys, pointing dangerous spears at them._

"_Get on my back and hold tight, we're breaking through, Tolice," the small boy told him, morphing into a oversized tiger and roaring at everyone. Tolice did as told, and they fled the castle at high speed. The Queen, however, deployed archers and other warriors after them, making it seem as all Wonderland was chasing them._

"_Go back to the start and you should be able to find your way home," D-Dawg's floating head said, a tail appearing next to his head to point into the direction Tolice met Juddee and Juddum. "It's not safe for you here."_

"_Thanks. I'll miss you," Tolice smiled bashfully, averting his eyes._

"_I am sure we'll see each other again very soon," the Joneshire Cat smiled one last time and disappeared._

_Dougah sprinted even faster, dropping his owner on the ground rather roughly upon arrival – they made an unreasonable distance in a few minutes and reached the door same door they entered those lands._

"_Please, let me through! I'm being chased!" he pleaded with the sleepy doorknob._

"_This is just a dream, you can exit with a pinch, me boy."_

"_Tolice! I knew you weren't listening!" a young lady shook Tolice awake, looking rather displeased. "Let's go home, it's about to get dark," she said, getting up and walking towards the old, small house._

"_Was that just a dream, Dougah?" he picked his cat up and started following his sister. It had felt so realistic! Such a pity, because Tolice really enjoyed his time with D-Dawg._

"_Tolice, honey, there's a package for you on the table."_

"_Who could it be?" Tolice opened the package carefully. He couldn't help the smile on his face when he saw the same outfit he had used to the ball along with a small note:_

_I hope you're single, I'm coming (in a few days) to ask your parents for permission to marry you._

_J.C. a.k.a. D.D._

"It's funny because 'tolice' means 'foolishness' in Portuguese," Tom chuckled from the door, watching Danny tuck the twins and kiss their foreheads. "But why all of your stories have a ball in them?"

"I like balls, I guess," the brunet shrugged.

"I expected you to. You're married to a man, after all."

"Get out, Fletcher!" Danny chuckled, slightly flustered, closing the door behind him and chasing his husband to their room.

~#~

"That's wha' happened? Poor, Luke."

"I guess he's okay now, but he was so scared," Tom stripped down to his boxers, throwing his clothes to the side. He explained briefly to Danny how a newborn bird fell from the nest straight into Luke's hair that afternoon and made him cry for quite some time. "He seemed a bit better when I said it was a baby bird and put it back on the nest. You should have seen Leah screaming he had a a monster in his hair."

"Good thing he has my hair, or that bird would be pancake against his head."

"Head that might be just as thick as yours," Tom teased, crawling in bed with his already semi-naked husband. "Now let's get to your reward for being such a good dad, shall we?"

"Tha' would be wonderful," Danny smiled, letting Tom take the lead to whatever he had planned. He would follow that man anywhere.

~Fin~


End file.
